After Mamata Banerjee denied permission to Priyanka Gandhi to hold rallies in West Bengal, her husband Robert Vadra bought all the land parcels necessary for Priyanka’s roadshow, rallies, and meetings. “We are also exploring buying aerospace and water bodies in case the need arises,” said a Congress spokesperson.

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fter her ongoing four-day trip to Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi will head to West Bengal to do a week-long roadshow there. According to reports, after watching members of the Priyanka Sena, the Mamata Banerjee government banned the outfit, and decided to deny permission to Priyanka Gandhi to hold rallies in the state. “It’s a fashion crime,” a government official was quoted as saying. After the West Bengal Government issued a notice about the ban, Gandhi’s husband Robert Vadra sprung into action.

While taking an extended lunch break of 30 minutes at the ED office, Robert Vadra bought all the land parcels necessary for Priyanka’s roadshow, rallies, and meetings. “Except Government buildings, all are ours. I have couriered 2TB data of land records to your address. Just show it to the state officials if anyone obstructs you on the way,” was the last WhatsApp message Robert Vadra sent Pramod Mitra, Congress general secretary in charge of West Bengal.

While sharing the reason for buying the entire state, Mr Mitra said, “Do you think just buying the place where the chopper would land be sufficient? You know Mamata di right? What about the guest house location? What about parking space? So many hassles if at each stage we have to ask for permission. We are also exploring buying aerospace and water bodies in case the need arises,” Mr Mitra said.

“Moreover, which husband would like his wife to face so much trouble during Valentine’s week? Vadra sir would like Priyanka ji to return back to Delhi quickly so that she can give him moral support post the marathon ED questioning sessions.”

Reacting to this news, a state TMC leader said, “If this information is true, we will request Didi to start another hunger strike. West Bengal is ours; we love this place so much that we do not even allow anyone to come here for campaigning, how can he buy our land like this?”

BJP, which thought Priyanka’s impact is limited to eastern UP only was quite upset by the twin challenges they now face in West Bengal. Commenting on this, a state BJP leader said, “First Didi didn’t allow our central leaders to come here for campaigning; now we have to ask permission from Robert Vadra? I have sent a strong note to my central leadership. What kind of ED officials do we have? Fire that entire team if they cannot control one Robert Vadra. What kind of grilling are they doing if he is able to buy a full state under their nose?”

When approached for a comment, BJP leader Harish Dwivedi said he was more interested to know what Priyanka Gandhi will wear during the West Bengal roadshow.